Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell: A True Story of Violence, Corruption and the Soul of Surfing

For two months every winter, when Pacific storms make landfall, swarms of mainlanders, Brazilians, Australians, and Europeans flock to Oahu’s paradisiacal North Shore in pursuit of some of the greatest waves on earth, for surfing’s Triple Crown competition. Chas Smith reveals how this influx transforms a sleepy, laid-back strip of coast into a lawless, violent, drug-addled, and adrenaline-soaked mecca.

With Hunter-esque journalist Smith throwing himself into the centre of the action, this is a sun-bleached, breakneck account of power, money, crime, and surfing

About the author

Chas Smith was the first to surf mainland Yemen, Osama Bin Laden’s ancestral homeland, directly after 9/11. He’s written about fashion in Somalia, debauchery in Azerbaijan and terrorists in India. In 2006, Smith covered the conflict between Israel …

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Praise for Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell

‘Love him or hate him, he’s the most stylish writer [surfing] has seen for decades.’ —Fred Pawle, the Australian

‘Absolutely the most entertaining surf book in years, a breathless adrenalized romp. More importantly, it’s a jaw-dropping introduction to Smith’s greatest – and most promising – literary creation, himself.’ – Dan Duane, author of Caught Inside: A Surfer's Year on the California Coast

‘Gleeful defiance and feral wit … fuel this compulsive, wild ride of a book’ —the Age

‘A hip exposé of Hawaii’s North Shore surfing culture … entertains, while superior reporting informs and illuminates much about the surf industry’s peculiar machinations, its cavalcade of sun-bleached heroes and the troubled history of Hawaii itself … effortlessly shifting from the profound to the profane.’ —Kirkus